equipment for rental advice

[buleetu]

hello everyone

a friend of mine has asked me to find out whats the best equipment for him to buy for rental to his "potential" customers,he is starting to thinking about setting up some sort of centre and needs to know what he needs to start off with

he would wanna have enough equipment to have up to 20 divers in the water i guess so probably buying in bulk

what size tanks would be best,which regs and bcds,stuff that is tough and safe, for ordinary openwater divers to a max depth of 30 metres

thanks for all and any help and ideas u guys have to offer

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

A person with the experience necessary to be successful at what you describe will know what and how much.

 

[vjanelle]

It'll also depend on warm water diving, cold water diving, pool instruction, etc.

 

[diveandclimb]

I'll second what halemano said but add a few things.
1. What he needs will greatly depend on where he is working and what sort of clientel he is trying to appeal to. Some divers would expect a computer with their rental, others wouldn't etc.
2. AL80s and AL60s for smaller folks is the tank rental norm in my experience although I know of one shop which rents HP80s.
3. Most shops are dealers too so they rent the same brands of gear that they sell. I know of shops around here which rent Oceanic, Aqua Lung, and Mares gear. All are fine.
4. Weight integrated BCs are popular.
5. Many shops rent higher end gear than they might need to because they want to get people to purchase the same gear they rent. If people get used to bottom of line gear than thats what they will feel comfortable purchasing but if the shop gets them used to using high end back inflates and top of the line regs/computers they will not want to buy the low end stuff when they do make their large purchases.
6. He will want to be servicing his own gear so what he can hire trained techs for will matter.
7. He will need to buy way more than 20 BCs so that he can fit 20 divers at a time (same goes for suits) he will also need a handful of extra regs, computers, etc.
8. He should include the accessories. For example, one LDS doesn't have an octo holder or guage/computer console clip so their gear gets dragged through sand and generally crapped up. Another LDS puts a retractor on their consoles and a snorkle keeper on all their BCs so their renters can both streamline their rig and protect the shops gear. Its a win-win situation and save the shop tons of money on repairs and replacements for an extra $15 per set.

 

[captndale]

These would be my picks:

1. Un-balanced piston regulator with large diaphragm second stage such as a Sherwood Brute or Scubapro MK2/R190. These are cheap and easy to service. Un-balanced first stages start to breath hard at low tank pressures which helps to remind newbies to surface.

2. Whatever instruments you decide to supply, such as a compasses or computers, should be integrated into a console. Wrist mounted gauges will be lost by students and rental customers.

3. Back plate and single tank wings for BC's. You will only need to stock one size, plus a very few small plates for the very small customers. When the wings or webbing wear out, you only replace what is necessary.

4. Wetsuits should be of the "farmer John" type. They fit more people and body types than the Jump suit styles and can be mixed and matched..

5. If you rent gloves, spend extra for kevlar. Rental customers can wear holes in the finger tips of normal gloves in a single dive.

6. Aluminum tanks (80's and 50's or 60"s) are a commodity. They are cheap and plentiful.

7. The best weights are solid slotted weights on standard nylon weight belts with metal buckles. Solid weights are inexpensive and will last forever. Paint the weights a bright, ugly color and you will get most of them back, most of the time.

 

[buleetu]

thank you to u both

ill let him know and get back if he has any more questions

thanks again guys

 

[Rhone Man]

Based upon my experience as a renter, I would say that the normal model for rental gear is cheap and tough. This creates a natural push towards:

- Aluminium tanks
- Sherwood Brut regulators (not great performance, but super tough and easy to service)
- Full foot fins
- Non-weight integrated BCDs (tourists forever losing weight pockets, it seems)

Just my 2 PSI.

 

[Tigerman]

Based upon my experience as a renter, I would say that the normal model for rental gear is cheap and tough. This creates a natural push towards:

- Aluminium tanks
- Sherwood Brut regulators (not great performance, but super tough and easy to service)
- Full foot fins
- Non-weight integrated BCDs (tourists forever losing weight pockets, it seems)

Just my 2 PSI.

That explains to me why I see so many weight belts on rental gear and now it all makes sense. I guess replacing pockets all the time could get a noticeable expense..
Wonder why lots of people are so sloppy looking after gear thats not their own..

 

[Jim Lapenta]

You answered your own question. It's not theirs.

 

[diversteve]

I have never seen a shop that rents BP/W's as standard rental gear. Not that it's not a good idea.
I wonder about the expense vs. a basic BC with weight belt though.

I typically see Sherwood and Scubapro gear for rent - Sherwood Brut's seem pretty indestructible.

I'd recommend your friend look at the material the BC's are made of also. Some models (Zeagle is one) are made of Ballistic Nylon, it will take a lot more abuse.

I don't know if beanojones is still around but afaik he was doing something similar recently.

If your friend stocks open-heel fins, he'll sell more boots. Plus if he's in Ireland do they even wear full-foot fins in cold water?

At least here, the standard process is you purchase yoru personal mask/fins/snorkel before class. It's probably a good revenue stream for a diveop since it can be upsold easily: "you're going to continue diving after class right? Better to buy the good stuff now..."